Representative Image© BCCI
Australian cricket team all-rounder Glenn Maxwell celebrated his 36th birthday on Monday and the social media was filled with wishes for the explosive batter. However, there was no birthday wish from Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Maxwell joined RCB back in 2021 and played three seasons with them but ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, this action from the franchise has fans guessing about the future. Several social media users claimed that no birthday wish for Maxwell can mean that the Australian will not be retained ahead of the mega auction.
Meanwhile, the BCCI has decided to scrap the contentious Impact Player rule for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.
RCB Admin hasn't posted anything for Maxwell on his birthday today. Does this mean??? pic.twitter.com/uNPS9KEPry
— Aditya Saha (@Adityakrsaha) October 14, 2024
The Impact Player concept was introduced in SMAT couple of years ago and was later extended to the Indian Premier League.
— Utsav Chandak (@UtsavChandak333) October 15, 2024
“Kindly note that the BCCI has decided to do away with the provision of the ‘Impact Player' for the ongoing season,” the BCCI informed the state associations on Monday.
— Shivraj (@EeSalaCupNahi) October 14, 2024
The BCCI's decision to do away with the Impact Player comes shortly after it decided to retain the rule in the IPL till 2027. With record 250 plus total seen in the IPL this year, the Impact Player experiment was questioned by many including India skipper Rohit Sharma.
However most of the IPL franchises were in favour of the rule.
Rohit had felt that it was holding back the development of all-rounders.
"I generally feel that it is going to hold back (development of allrounders) because eventually cricket is played by 11 players, not 12 players. I'm not a big fan of impact player. You are taking out so much from the game just to make it little entertainment for the people around," Rohit said on the Club Prairie Podcast.
Saurashtra head coach Niraj Odedra welcomed the BCCI's decision.
"It is nice change. Also the ICC doesn't have this rule in major tournaments So it would be good for cricketers who want to play for India as they graduate from domestic season," he said.
(With PTI inputs)